Intel Corp. on Monday said that several leading manufacturers of netbooks computers have started shipments of systems featuring dual-core Atom microprocessors for netbooks. This is the most important update for the Atom line of central processing units (CPUs) since their introduction in early 2008.

Intel dual-core Atom processor N550 features Hyper-Threading technology to process up to four threads of code simultaneously. The device features integrated single-channel DDR3 memory controller as well as integrated graphics core. The central processing unit is clocked at 1.50GHz, which is below the clock-speed of nettop-oriented Atom chips, but will allows to ensure proper thermal design power for mobile devices. Intel Atom N550 is made using 45nm process technology.

"In their short history, the netbook category has experienced impressive growth. Having shipped about 70 million Intel Atom chips for netbooks since our launch of the category in 2008, there is obviously a great market for these devices around the world," said Erik Reid, director of marketing for mobile platforms at Intel.

Sales from Acer Group, Asustek Computer, Fujitsu, Lenovo, LG, Samsung, MSI, Toshiba and others start today and through end of the year. Pricing of the machines is projected to remain on the level $399 per netbook.